On April 15, the country music community will gather in Las Vegas, Nev., for the 2018 ACM Awards. The annual awards show has taken place in Las Vegas since 2003 (except when it moved to Texas in 2015, to celebrate its 50th anniversary), and this year more than ever, some artists say it's important for the event to be there.

For many stars and fans, the 2018 ACM Awards and the surrounding festivities will be their first time in Las Vegas since the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting on Oct. 1, 2017, when 58 people died and hundreds more were injured at the hands of a single gunman. In a video recently released by the Academy of Country Music, Michael Ray, Ashley McBryde, Lanco and more reflect on the significance of coming back to Vegas a little over six months after the tragedy.

"We're not gonna let one person ruin the essence of what we do," proclaims Lindsay Ell, with other artists such as Ray and Jimmie Allen, echoing her sentiment. Adds Brett Young, "You can't let something like that stop you."

Remembering the Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting Victims

A number of the artists featured in the video -- Walker McGuire, McBryde and Lanco, among others -- played the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival earlier in the weekend (the festival ran Sept. 29-Oct. 1). Luke Combs, who was at the festival when the shooting took place, says he's "glad" the ACMs are taking place in Las Vegas "because I think it shows solidarity."

In the video description on YouTube, the ACM notes that, this year, "[w]e’ll stand together to honor those whose lives were lost, those whose lives will never be the same and those who find comfort in the music. We look forward to returning to our home away from home."

The 2018 ACM Awards are set to air live on CBS beginning at 8PM ET. The ceremony will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.